#So even though she's dead she stays important to Nevermore (and to me! <3) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

travllingbunny · 5 years

Text

The 100 rewatch: 4x11 The Other Side

Now that I’m finally on my vacation and have the time to write these posts, I need to catch up. I actually rewatched up to 5x04, so now I need to go over 7 episodes so I could continue my rewatch of season 5.

Season 4 is one of my favorite seasons of The 100 mostly because of its last 3 episodes, which are all among my all-time favorites episodes of the show. While I still think that 2x16 is the show’s strongest finale, season 4 has the strongest finish with 3 amazing episodes in a row. It helps that this is both the stage of the season when we’re past the plotlines about Grounder politics and religion – never my favorite part of the show, though it was better done in season 4 than in season 3 – and where the focus was on what made season 4 so good: human drama and conflict between people and within people’s minds and souls, in the face of the end of the world and an enemy that cannot be defeated: climate change in its most extreme version.

One of the three storylines in 4x11 is the tense standoff about who will be in the bunker and survive, which turns the main characters against each other, including Clarke against Bellamy, but where none of the sides are villainous and everyone has good reasons for what they are doing. The show prides itself on grey morality, but it doesn’t always get it right – this is one of the times it does.

But while that storyline is the usual story of people fighting for survival (for themselves, their loved ones, whoever they consider “their people” – since the morally right goal of saving everyone is impossible), the other two plots are about people who have decided that they don’t want to survive, or who are struggling to decide whether they want to live or not.

It’s also the episode remembered for the first death of a main character who was a part of the original cast at the start of season 1 since episode 2x08. It’s one of the saddest deaths on The 100, but also one of those that felt most unavoidable.

“See you on the other side” is one of those repetitive catchphrases on The 100 that has changed its meaning so much over time Jasper said it several times – I remember that he said it in The Pilot, just about to cross the river (just before he got speared and nearly died), in 3x13 just before drinking the potion that Luna’s people gave him and others so they would lose consciousness before they take them to their oil rig – and he tells it to Monty as he is about to die.

This story of PTSD was done much better than whatever the show was doing with Finn. There is a parallel between Jasper and Octavia in how damaged they were after to the deaths of their first real love, but while Octavia mostly directed her grief outward into violence and, for a while, murder (an with a dash of death wish), Jasper was only verbally aggressive to others – and more so in season 3 than in season 4 – but his psychological state mostly manifested in his loss of a will for survival.

This storyline is very controversial, from the fans who started hating Jasper and calling him annoying – because the show was honest about the fact that depressed people are not always pleasant to be around – to people who were upset that the story didn’t get an uplifting outcome with Jasper overcoming his problems. But it wouldn’t be realistic if everyone in the show overcome their traumas. In reality, some people just break and stay broken. And I think it’s important to show that, too. It doesn’t make the story hopeless and nihilistic, because, at the same time – and in this very episode – we also get stories of people – Harper, Raven - who do manage to overcome trauma and decide to live.

I’m still glad that the show didn’t go with their original idea – Jasper shooting himself in the season 3 finale, right after he wrote his suicide letter. Not just because his death would have been overshadowed by other deaths that season, and because it would’ve made season 3 way too dark, but also because, in a way, his season 4 arc and suicide was less bleak, odd as that may sound. Season 3 Jasper was focused on his pain, anger and despair, while season 4 Jasper was reconciled with the idea he would die, and focused on going out having some fun before his death.

I also think it would be very unrealistic if, in the face of such bleak future – probable death of radiation or years of possibly awful life stuck in a bunker – at least some people wouldn’t make the decision to live out the rest of the days with an end-of-the-world party and go out in their own time, at their own choice and in a more pleasant way, such as overdosing of drug-like tea. And knowing how things turn out in the rest of season 4 – and that most of them would probably be condemned to death of radiation, anyway – and how horrible the life in the bunker ended up being (and that it took the lives of almost 400 out of the 1200 people), I can’t really say that those who stayed behind in Arkadia and committed suicide made a wrong choice, even if it’s not a choice I would make.

Jasper’s death scene, his last moments with Monty, is beautiful and heartbreaking. But I still didn’t cry during that scene in this rewatch, which surprised me. Then I was even more surprised when the tears only came later when Monty found out that Harper was alive and she told him she loved him, which she had tried to deny before, because she wanted Monty to leave her and not risk his life for her. I think it’s because, for tears, you need some kind of catharsis, a relief, and there is nothing like that in Jasper’s death scene. It’s like watching the Buffy episode The Body – similar to dealing with deaths of people close to you in real life, where you’re just frozen and you’re not getting any kind of closure or seeing any kind of meaning. Monty keeps fighting and trying to stop Jasper from killing himself even after it is already too late, or getting angry that he can’t do anything about it anymore. because it’s not in Monty’s nature to give up hope. And that’s why he doesn’t even say “I love you” when Jasper asks him to, until it is too late and Jasper cannot hear it anymore, because to say it would mean to accept his death.

Monty has lost so much at this point – having to kill his mother twice, now losing his best friend who was like a brother to him, that the moment when he thinks that Harper is dead (seeing a dead body of a blonde woman, who turns out to be Bree), and then realizes that Harper is alive was such a big relief both because of Harper and because Monty has managed to save someone he loves, and his arc is not all grief and darkness.

Oh, the times when Raven used to be really a main character and had a great arc about struggling with her pain, disability, and (temporary) loss of mental functions! (I love season 6 and it may end up as my favorite season, but it pretty much made Raven a side character and didn’t do her too many favors.) Though the Raven episode most often compared to 6x07 Nevermind is 3x11 Nevermore (because of the similar title and same writer), Raven’s story in 4x11 actually is more similar to Clarke’s story in 6x07: it’s an internal struggle where she is deciding whether she wants to live, and where she talks to dead characters, who are actually embodiments of parts of her own mind, pulling her in different directions and fighting for her soul. Here they are “Becca”, tempting Raven to die, because a part of her doesn’t believe she can still be the brilliant mind who solves all the problems – and “Sinclair”, who helps Raven find hope and fight to live, and come up with a solution how to heal her brain. She does it by basically “rebooting” herself through temporary “death” – which is similar to how Gabriel brought back Clarke in 6x10. Considering the fact that Sinclair is just a product of Raven’s mind, it’s a bit funny when he tells Raven that she shouldn’t compare herself to Da Vinci and Mozart etc. because she’s better than all of them – but I guess Raven is imagining Sinclair as giving her huge amounts of praise in order to give her faith in herself. He was always the mentor/friend who gave her a chance to work as a mechanic on the Ark and believed in her even when she didn’t believe in herself.

The bunker drama

I wasn’t happy with the way 4x10 put Clarke is a pseudo-antagonist role, by focusing on the Conclave (an incredibly stupid way to resolve the question of survival of the human race) with Octavia as the hero, and making the viewers forget what the situation was when Clarke made her decision. Add to that that she is pitted against Bellamy, and that she is siding with Jaha, and you have all the ingredients for the fandom to see Clarke as a villain. But in fact, her decision made most sense in the circumstances – not only was Octavia realistically unlikely to win, but the most likely outcome was that Luna would win and doom the entire human race to die. But this episode corrects that and explains her reasons – and that they are different from Jaha’s. Once that the news comes that Octavia has won and decided to share the bunker – which was Clarke’s suggestion that all the Grounder leaders ignored in 4x09 – the situation changes completely, and it’s obvious that Clarke, who already didn’t feel good about what she was doing, started having doubts, while Jaha was very sure that what they were doing was right, and insisted that it’s all about saving their people.

Clarke, on the other hand, thinks that Skaikru need to be in the bunker because they are the only ones who can operate machines that ensure such things as air and water in the bunker, so they’re essential for the survival of the human race. Which is true. But sharing the bunker would also solve that. However, at that point, no one is sure if Grounders already know about them stealing the bunker and if they will start killing all of the Skaikru. Bellamy has faith that Octavia can stop it, but not everyone does.

Of course, even if Clarke had good reasons to steal the bunker, the whole thing with kidnapping Bellamy and keeping him there against his will, chained, while he was desperate to save his sister, was another messed up thing to do, and Clarke clearly didn’t feel good about that, either. It’s the understandable why she did it, to save his life, but I’ve never been OK with the “kidnapping/imprisoning you for your own good” thing, whether it was Lexa kidnapping Clarke and keeping her prisoner for a week in Polis, Bellamy handcuffing Clarke to make her prisoner in Arkadia, or Clarke keeping Bellamy chained up.

That said, I’m not sure how certain Clarke was sure that keeping the bunker closed was the right thing to do, either, because when she was explaining her reasons to Niylah, she seemed to really be talking to herself and trying to convince herself, and Niylah was just a sounding board. That relationship always consisted of Niylah being Clarke’s friend who was there to comfort her when she needed some human touch but wasn’t able to turn to anyone she had stronger emotions for – and while they had sex a couple of times in the past, this time Clarke just needed someone to lie beside her and put an arm around her, but when she talked about the reasons, she had her back to Niylah and not even looking at her, but looking somewhere into the distance.

The relationship between Clarke and Jaha is a pretty interesting one, and I wish it had been explored more, but they did do some of it here. He was a close family friend she grew up with, almost an uncle figure, then he became the symbol of everything she hated, the person who executed her father and imprisoned her for a year. Earlier on in season 4, she was still calling him out on what he did to Jake, but then, having to do things like make the list, she started thinking that she was turning into Jaha. In this episode, even though Clarke was the one who came up with the idea to steal the bunker, Jaha was the one who was confident about what they were doing and acted like he was in charge (prompting Bellamy to make the good observation “I don’t remember the election that made you the chancellor again”) convincing the uncertain Clarke that their path was right. It reminded me a bit of the dynamic between Pike and Bellamy in S3.

This whole situation was pretty complicated: on one hand, Clarke was telling herself that she was saving the human race by saving “her people”, but if everything was resolved without bloodshed, sharing the bunker would mean letting more people potentially survive, because the bunker had the capacity of holding 1200 people, while there were just a little over 400 Sky people. So, one could argue that the “big picture” favored opening the bunker ASAP. For Jaha, it was all about “saving our people”. But what does “my people/our people” mean? Everyone defines that according to how they feel. Jaha sees it as the collective of people from the Ark that he feels responsible for – but 1) it’s not like the lives of people from the Ark are inherently more important than the lives of people known as Grounders, and 2) some of those “our people” were not even in the bunker. Kane, Octavia, Raven, Monty would be left to die, among others. On the personal level, who is more “your person” than your lover or child or sibling, or close friend? But Jaha has always had a rather tribalistic vision and cared more as his people as a collective, than the individual people in that group. Kane was the closest thing to a friend Jaha had at this point, but he was OK with leaving him to die. But it was obvious that Bellamy would never agree to leaving Octavia to die, and Abby would never agree to leave Kane. And if Bellamy or Abby were outside the bunker, I’m 100% sure Clarke wouldn’t agree to leave them to die, either. However, after his wife’s and son’s death, Jaha didn’t have anyone he loved so much that he couldn’t sacrifice them. And since he kind of sacrificed his son to the “big picture” – by putting him at risk of death (which kept haunting him), I think that Jaha doubled down on his belief in his messianic role to save the Arker,s and that he had kind of convinced himself everyone else should be able to sacrifice their loved ones to that.

Which is why he didn’t see it coming when Abby stuck a syringe in him and knock him out, to go and help Bellamy go and open the bunker door. I remember that I saw that coming the first time I watched it and even guessed Abby’s reply to Jaha saying that he’s sorry about Kane’s inevitable death: “He was a good man”. – “He still is”. Jaha was also wrong to bring up Jake, because I think that Abby’s guilt over betraying Jake (which led to Jaha executing him – which she did not anticipate) only made her more determined to do differently this time and save Kane and not betray him. Oh, the time when Abby doing things to save Kane was something you could root for and that didn’t cross the line into creepy, misguided and deeply morally wrong!

This is one of the very few times in the show where Abby and Bellamy had significant interactions – even working together. And they managed to fool Murphy.

I love the fact that Bellamy made himself look self-destructive, by injuring himself while chained, only because he had a plan how to get out and open the door.

This is one of the two or three times in seasons 3-4 when Bellamy tells Murphy that he has no idea what it’s like to love someone, and Murphy has to keep explaining that he’s wrong and referencing his love for Emori.

Being focused on the big picture and trying to save the human race, as Clarke was doing throughout season 4, made her have to repress her feelings and almost severed her human connections (e.g. leaving some of her best friends out of the list, stealing the bunker even though some of the were outside and she was leaving them to die). She’s never been more “Head” than in season 4, because she believed she really had to be. But Bellamy was always her one soft spot where her ability to repress emotions for the ‘greater good’ would hit a brick wall. Bellamy (and Octavia, probably because of him) had to be on the list, not because of any objective reasons (which doesn’t mean that Bellamy isn’t very valuable for his leadership qualities, but that wasn’t why she put him there), even when she was leaving out a genius like Monty. We’ll never know if she could have stayed strong if ALIE had tortured/threatened to kill Bellamy (because the show hinted he was her biggest ‘weakness’ but never allowed that to happen), but she did let hundreds of people die in bombing mostly to protect him, she gave up 50 spots for her people to survive, when Roan blackmailed her by threatening to kill Bellamy, which Roan knew would work because threatening to kill Bellamy got Clarke in season 3 to give up fighting and let him take her to what she thought would be her death at Nia’s hands, and now, she was convinced that she was ensuring the survival of human race by not opening the bunker, but she still couldn’t bring herself to shoot him. But even the fact she thought she could do it shows how out of touch with her emotions she was at that point: Girl, I could have told you there’s no way you would be able to.

I’ve always thought – after seeing how the next two episodes of season 4 went (and then the next two seasons confirmed that) – that the moment when Clarke couldn’t shoot Bellamy and ended up crying, was the moment when she finally faced up to how she feels about him, and that she’s been aware of her feelings ever since. (Even if you disagree on that, there is no way you could spend 6 years on her own, radioing him every day, without realizing exactly what you feel.)

In 4x10, Bellamy was worrying that he wasn’t able to tell his sister that he loves her. When Bellamy and Octavia reunite and hug, Bellamy tells her “I love you so much” – which is the first time we’ve ever seen him say “I love you” to someone. To date, Octavia is the only person he’s said it to on-screen.

Octavia exiles Echo – pulling the “I said your people will get to survive, not you” trick, and considering all her experiences with Echo up to that point. I don’t blame her at all. She correctly guesses that Echo won’t tell the other Grounders (other than Indra, who is playing along) that Skaikru stole the bunker, since she will still die anyway. Echo indeed turned out to be more concerned with survival than revenge.

Timeline: The episode starts two days before Praimfaya, and ends exactly a day before Praimfaya

Body Count: 11 Arkers who killed themselves, including Jasper, Bree, another Delinquent, and Riley.

At least 60 Delinquents have died (4 in season 4), while 40 are still alive. But not for long.

Rating: 10/10

45 notes · View notes

alwaysaprille · 7 years

Text

Alright:

I asked you guys to wait until Monday for my 4x11 Speculation, because I needed time to watch the other 11s, well I’ve finally done that and can now provide you with my spec!

Unlike the 10s there aren’t really a lot of really obvious consistent themes across these episodes, but, watching them the way I did, back to back, I was able to piece together a certain...trajectory for several characters, namely, Jasper, Monty, Raven, Clarke and Bellamy. I’m going to break this speculation into segments by character, with speculations bolded and italicized, here goes:

Jasper:

I suspect that radiation poisoning is going to begin to make an appearance at Arkadia and I think that this will cause Jasper to have a change of heart (at least in regards to the lives of others). In both 2x11 and 3x11 the focus of Jasper’s story line is his inability to save his friends from harm. See the following exchanges:

2x11 (Coup de Grace):

Jasper: “All right. Listen up. There's gonna be questions, but there's no time. We're getting out of here. So pack your stuff.”

Fox: “What are you talking about?”

Miller: “What, they're just letting us go?”

Jasper: “Yes, right now before they change their minds”

3x11 (Nevermore):

Clarke: “I had to save our people.”

Jasper: “I was going to save everyone.”

Clarke: “I wish you could've.”

Jasper: “Shove your regret up your ass.”

and

Raven: “Let's protect Jasper. Jasper's so sensitive. Jasper's lost someone. Everyone cater to his feelings. We've all lost someone. You don't see us falling apart. You don't see us getting wasted, being useless...”

Jasper: “No. You took a pill to take your pain away. You gave up your memories.”

Raven: “But then why should we expect anything more? You used to get high off people's medicine. Being a selfish loser was your only move.”

Jasper: “Please stop.”

Raven: “That's all we see when we look at you... a coward, a waste of breath. Why do you even bother living? You're weak, pathetic. You can't save me. You can't even save yourself. You couldn't save what's her name.”

In all of these instances, Jasper inability to save the people he cares for is front and center. All Jasper has wanted to be since 1x01 was a hero and so far he hasn’t been able to reach that goal.

As it is likely this is the episode that Jasper dies in, I suspect that we will see him sacrifice himself to save the people stuck at Arkadia and finally Jasper will have been able to save everyone, just as he’s been trying to do for 2 Seasons now, probably by getting the others out of Arkadia.

Monty:

In Episode 1x11, Monty has discovered that the Navigation System on the Exodus ship was tampered with by an unknown signal. He wants to figure out what’s happening with the signal, but Raven decides that they need the parts more than they need to figure out what happened. Raven also disconnects the radio that they were using to communicate with the Ark, even though Monty asks her not to, as it’s the only way they have to communicate with the Ark and his parents. At the end of this episode Monty is captured by the Mountain Men.

In Episode 2x11, Monty does not have a huge role as he spends most of the episode trapped in a cage, watching Harper be bled, before he is ultimately rescued by Jasper and President Wallace.

In Episode 3x11, Monty is integral to the plot of saving Raven, it is his idea to go to the Dropship and retrieve a pulse generator to help finish Raven’s EMP design. He takes Octavia with him and uses this opportunity to try to convince her to stay with the Delinquents. After retrieving the pulse generator, Monty walks outside to discover Octavia has disappeared and his mother has arrived. He realizes that she is chipped and is forced to shoot her when she almost kills Octavia. He realizes, after Raven is successfully revived that he could have saved his mother.

Monty’s story line for the 11′s seems to follow a relatively stable path. In each 11 episode he loses/almost loses someone he cares for and his life is endangered/he is captured. In 1x11, he loses contact with the Ark (and therefore his parents and is unsure if they are alive or not), he is then kidnapped by the Mountain Men at the end of this episode. In 2x11, he is forced to watch Harper (who later becomes his girlfriend) be drilled for bone marrow (it is heavily implied that she is too weak for more drilling and would have died on the table if Wallace had not come in when he did) while he is held prisoner in a cage. In 3x11, he is forced to shoot and kill his mother when she attempts to kill Octavia, after she has already attacked him.

In my opinion, this only adds more weight to the “Jasper dies in 4x11″ theory. We know, from the promo, that Monty is dressed in a HAZMAT suit, so it’s likely radiation has reached Arkadia, putting Monty’s life in danger. Monty has two people he cares about deeply in Arkadia in 4x11 (Jasper and Harper) and I believe it’s more likely Jasper dies than Harper.

Raven:

In 1x11, Raven is splitting gun powder so as to increase the number of bullets they have. Finn accuses her of keeping busy, to which Raven responds:

“I’m not keeping busy, Finn. I’m keeping us alive.”

She assures Finn that she’s over everything that’s happened between them, but when she sees Finn and Clarke leave to go on a hunting mission together, she decides that she no longer wants to hang around Arkadia. Bellamy walks in on Raven getting ready to leave and they have the following exchange:

Bellamy: “Where you going?”

Raven: “The hell out of here.”

Bellamy: “No way. You're not leaving.”

Raven: “Really? And what makes you think you can tell me what to do? Aren't you a janitor?”

Bellamy: “Where you gonna go?”

Raven: “Into these damn woods. Don't worry about it. I'll find someplace safe.”

Bellamy: “Just wait. Don't be an idiot. You go alone, and you're dead or worse.”

Raven: “So what's your plan, sit here until you run out of bullets?”

Bellamy: “Yeah. Or until you come up with something better. Come on, Raven. You came down here in a pod you rebuilt yourself. You made a bomb out of a tin can. What else you got in that head of yours?”

Raven: “Radios. We can't defend ourselves if we can't communicate. If we can build radios, walkie-talkies- Then we can fight as a team. We'd have a chance, at least.”

Bellamy: “See? We need you. You may be a huge pain in the ass, but you're smart.” Raven gets to work on building the walkies, disconnecting the radio to Ark station in the process. However, when she learns that Clarke and Finn are not back when the rest of the hunting parties return, she takes drastic action to make herself feel better. She approaches Bellamy for sex, which ultimately does not assuage her pain. Unfortunately, she soon realizes that Clarke and Finn have been kidnapped.

In 2x11 Raven serves three important functions. The first thing she does in the episode is rig up the airlock so that Emerson can be held there without dying of radiation poisoning. The next time we see her, she is working on replicating the frequency of a tone generator as a defense against the Reapers. She’s also tinkering with the radio a bit. She and Clarke also have a revealing discussion this episode:

Clarke: “It's over.”

Raven: “No. You don't get to give up, Clarke. You killed Finn, and I didn't give up. I'm building a damn tone generator. You do your job.”

Clarke: “What is my job?”

Raven: “I don't know, to come up with something.” In 3x11 the episode is very Raven centric, although most of the action revolves around others trying to save her. Raven has already completed the EMP design that will save her, they just need to find a power source. When ALIE realizes that it is likely that Raven will be disconnected, she tells Raven to kill herself. Luckily the others manage to utilize the EMP in enough time to save her but not before we hear this:

Raven: “No. You lied! You lied! No. No. Please don't. The EMP will give me brain damage. You know it will. Please don't do this.” Raven’s story line across the 11s seems to revolve around her relationship to others and her ability to create. In each 11 episode Raven designs something that saves someone (1x11-the walkie-talkies, 2x11-the tone generators and the radiation proof air lock and in 3x11-the EMP that saves her), there’s also a lot of work with radio frequencies across these episodes (creating walkie-talkies and discovering Mt. Weather’s frequency in 1x11, using Mt. Weather tech to recreate the tone generators in 2x11 and uses an EMP to save herself in 3x11). She also attempts to leave the others in 2/3 of the 11′s (1x11-attempts to leave the Dropship, she likely would have died out there alone, 3x11-attempts to commit suicide (under ALIE’s influence).

Based on the above, I think Raven’s plot for 4x11 will have her either getting ready to go into space or actually making the launch, I think that while she is preparing to launch/in space, she discovers some form of technology (probably one that uses wave frequencies) that will be useful in either saving herself or saving the others. My best guess is that she actually does go into space, she discovers the still existing satellites that Mt. Weather was using to tamper with the Exodus ship as well as the radio communications in Season 2, and realizes they can be used for something and then she crash lands back on Earth (into the water-just as she discussed with Murphy and Luna in the beginning of this Season).

Clarke:

In Season 1, Clarke is kidnapped by Grounders in this episode, along with Finn. They are taken to a Grounder camp by Anya, who demands that Clarke save her second, Tris, or Finn dies. Clarke does her best to save the girl, including attempting to set up a blood transfusion, using Finn’s blood, but Tris ultimately dies. Finn is taken to be killed and Clarke, in an attempt to escape, kills the Grounder warrior (Trikru) who was standing guard over her, before being caught in a Grounder trap.

In Season 2, Clarke is returning to Arkadia from the Grounder camp. Emerson and another sniper have her in their sights. Clarke is in a hurry to get home, to make sure she doesn’t miss Bellamy radioing in, she’s also bucking against Abby’s (the current Chancellor) attempts at leadership:

Abby: “Clarke...”

Clarke: “Mom, I need to get back to that radio to see if Bellamy has made contact.”

Abby: “Listen to me. I know you don't think you need my protection anymore, but you do. You have to trust that I know what's right for us.”

Emerson’s sniper takes his shot, but misses, hitting a Trikru warrior instead and Clarke, Octavia and the others discover that Clarke and L/xa are targets. They return to Arkadia, where Clarke is still ultimately focused on Bellamy:

Clarke: “Anything from Bellamy?”

Raven: “No.”

Clarke: “Then why aren't you at the radio?”

Raven: “Octavia just took my place. How about you back off?”

The Trikru warrior dies, but Jackson and the others manage to give Emerson a transfusion of Arkadian blood, that helps to save his life.

Jackson and Abby realize they’ve already begun bleeding the 47 and Clarke, who hasn’t heard from Bellamy, begins to lose hope. However, just when she’s about to throw in the towel, Bellamy manages to radio in and Clarke leaves the radio call with renewed hope. This is also the episode where Clarke officially declares herself as “in charge” and Kane sides with her over Abby:

Clarke: “You may be the Chancellor but I’m in charge.”

Kane: “The Grounders trust Clarke.”- The irony.

We also get this great line at the end of the episode:

Clarke: ““Bellamy is the key to everything, Octavia. If he dies, we die.”

In Season 3, Clarke lies to Niylah to ensure safety for her people while they try to save Raven. Jasper spends much of the episode challenging Clarke’s authority. Clarke has a breakdown in this episode as well, after Raven’s taunting reaching critical levels. She and Bellamy also have a moment where she checks over his bandages:

Clarke: “You'll recover.”

Bellamy: “Will I? What do you do when you realize you might not be the good guy?”

Clarke: “Maybe there are no good guys.”

The consistencies I’ve found across the 11′s for Clarke are:

Clarke steps into a leadership position that others are not happy with her taking (Abby v. Clarke in 2x11 and Jasper v. Clarke in 3x11).

She sets up a blood transfusion in 2 of these episodes, one which fails (Tris/Finn) and one that works (Emerson/unknown donor) and we know Nightblood has been an important part of this Season.

Clarke has a breakdown due to the weight of leadership and the choices she’s made (With Raven in 2x11 and with Raven again in 3x11)

Predictions based on that: I believe Clarke’s leadership will be contested again in 4x11, I think it’s possible that we might see a blood transfusion used to save others (or perhaps a bone marrow transplant-and as Clarke is the only available Nightblood, it would have to come from her). We know she’s going to have a breakdown thanks to the promo for this episode, and I predict that it will be Bellamy who helps soothe her (as he did in both 2x11 and 3x11).

Bellamy:

In 1x11, Bellamy doesn’t have a huge role. He sends groups out hunting in the beginning of the episode, convinces Raven to stay in Arkadia, has sex with Raven later that episode and then goes looking for Clarke and Finn at the end of the episode.

In 2x11 his plot is much bigger, the episode begins with Bellamy being scrubbed in Mt. Weather, an obviously painful process. He awakens in a cage, next to Echo, who warns him that they take the strong. When Bellamy tells her he can’t understand him, she realizes he is Arkadian and spits on him. When Bellamy realizes they are coming back, he makes a distraction, which save Echo, but they take him to be drained instead. Maya finds Bellamy, whose blood is being used for treatment and begins unhooking him. Unfortunately, she is interrupted by Lovejoy. Maya convinces Lovejoy that Bellamy is dead, and Bellamy manages to get the jump on Lovejoy and, with Echo’s help, kills him. Bellamy realizes there are children in Mt. Weather and when he radios Clarke, tells her that they have to find a plan that doesn’t kill everyone. They also come up with the idea of using the Grounder army inside of Mt. Weather as a Trojan horse.

In 3x11, Bellamy and Clarke are reunited for the first time since 3x05, they share a pretty dramatic look when they meet again, before Bellamy helps carry Raven into the cave. Bellamy spends a lot of this episode running interference for Clarke and others. He is the one who tells Jasper to take a break when he gets too aggressive with Clarke, he wraps Clarke’s hand after Raven bites it, and volunteers to take her place for a bit with Raven. His role in the massacre is revealed and Bellamy is frustrated and angered to realize that he no longer believes that he made the right decision. Bellamy and Clarke have a second hand wrapping scene (see Clarke’s portion above) and they discuss what it means to be a good guy.

Predictions for Bellamy’s plot based on the above:

Obviously a big portion of Bellamy’s plot is discovering what happened to Octavia. We know at some point he is even willing to fight his way out of the bunker to do so. We also know that he is injured doing so (his hands are wrapped in the promo-a parallel to 3x11 perhaps). I’m pretty certain that he and Clarke will have an emotionally charged moment, where he talks to her about what it means to be the good guy. I am cautiously proposing that the episode might end with Clarke leaving the bunker and Bellamy following her out.

Other Predictions based on previous 11′s:

In 1x11 Kane is trapped on the outside of Earth Monitoring, where Jaha and Sinclair are stuck and dying. He manages to get inside and save them (although he does communicate with them via radio first), and then he crawls through an air duct to reach a Service Bay where he finds Abby, opening the doors using a portable battery. In 2x11, he is desperate to save the people trapped in Mt. Weather and begins to doubt and question Abby’s leadership abilities before ultimately siding with Clarke. He is not present in 3x11.

Abby’s plot in 2x11 (the only 11 she has a large role in) is all about her concern for Clarke. She spends most of the episode upset by the realization that the Grounders consider Clarke the Arkadian leader, and as a result, Clarke’s life is endangered.

Octavia spends 1x 11, 2x11 and 3x11, trying to find her place. In 1x11, the boys don’t listen to her advice because she’s a “Grounder Pounder.” in 2x11, she is training under Indra as her second, and in 3x11, she has come to the realization that she is “Not Trikru. Not Skaikru.”

I believe that Kabby’s plot will be about Abby trying to save Kane, while also being concerned about Clarke’s stressful position as a leader and that Octavia’s plot will center around her new role as a possible leader.

As usual feel free to reblog with comments/questions/additions as you’d like

#a BBPS Original #reading is fundamental #8th #May #2017 #May 8th 2017 #i queue it everyday #jasper jordan #monty green #raven reyes #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #marcus kane #abby griffin #octavia blake #the 100 #speculation

66 notes · View notes

nerdgasrnz · 8 years

Text

part 2 of this post

“So... you haven’t actually fought Grimm for yourself before?” “Well... no. I’ve always seen them talked about- scary stories, pictures, descriptions... but Sanctum isn’t quite as.... hands on as Beacon is...” Pyrrha mutters, “The only thing I really know how to fight is people. And even then...”

Jaune chuckles, “That’s fine. We are kind of in a time of peace right now, it’s okay if you haven’t gotten in a fight with one. In fact, you should feel lucky,”

“I... hear that a lot.” She laughs nervously, “So... how do you fight these things, anyway? Like, what if we get surprise attacked?” “You’ll know when they’re nearby, trust me.”

(read more)

“How?”

Jaune gives Pyrrha the spiel about being able to sense Grimm. Etc.

They continue on their way, looking for the relics.

“Do you think this is it?” Pyrrha asks. Jaune glances at the cave markings on the side. But she seems set on going in anyway.

“Pyrrha, I don’t think this is it...” “Jaune, I went through the trouble of making a torch, we can at least investigate for another 5 feet.” “If you say so...”

You can imagine how the rest of this goes.

“JAUNE, IT’S NOT THE RELIC! IT’S NOT THE RELIC!!!” “Okay, Pyrrha listen to me, just stay calm! And whatever you do, don’t let-” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” “...go.”

He glances at the giant Death Stalker before him. Smiles sheepishly and waves at it- then makes a break for it.

BAM.

Pyrrha slams into Ruby in midair, and they land in the tree.

“I’m sorry!” “No worries- oh, and um... hi! I’m Ruby,” “Pyrrha.” Pyrrha extends her hand. Ruby shakes it with an awkward smile, considering their situation (and Pyrrha’s weird position.)

Pyrrha when she gets onto the branch on her feet, she sees Weiss falling in midair. “Weiss!”

She springs into the air, catching Weiss in her arms. “Thank you!” “No problem!” Pyrrha says before glancing down, and remembering that gravity is a thing. “Oh God.”

BAM.

And to think, she was eager to be teamed up with this girl in the locker room not that long ago. “My hero...” “My back...!”

Between Jaune bringing a Deathstalker with him, and Ruby making the Nevermore mad, and Nora riding in on a now dead Ursa, a lot of confusing things are going on.

Jaune gets knocked onto his back, in front of the other 7 people present. “Great, the gang’s all here,” Yang says, “Now we can die together!”

And after Ruby’s show of bravado trying to take on the Death Stalker, and she and Weiss “making up,” Pyrrha makes note: “Um, everyone? That Nevermore’s circling back, what do we do?” “There’s no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us.” “She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things,” “Run and live?” Jaune smirks with relief, “That’s an idea I can get behind.”

And we sort of know how this next part goes. While Pyrrha is helping Ren and Blake fight off the Death Stalker, Pyrrha realizes as she fights that with the new abundance of aura she has, she’s having a better time fighting than what she’s used to- though she’s still having a bit of struggle.

“They need our help!” Jaune says, glancing down at the wide gap, “Can you get us over there?” he asks Nora.

This scene’s pretty much the same, except Jaune is better at landing. “You didn’t have to hit me, you know...” he mutters once they arrive.

When Pyrrha throws her javelin at the Death Stalkers eye, and manages to hit it, there’s a look of immense surprise on her face, as she glances at her hand, wondering where her newfound accuracy came from. But while she’s preoccupied in wonder, the Death Stalker nearly attacks her but Jaune blocks it’s claw with his shield.

When Ren’s knocked out from the fight, Jaune asks Pyrrha if she can hit the stinger, and Pyrrha hesitates slightly before doing a throw- again, she’s taken by surprise when she manages to accurately land a hit on the Death Stalker.

“Nora, nail it!” Jaune says as he moves into position. “Heads up!”

Jaune manages to steel himself well enough to boost Nora, with the stone flooring shattering under the force. Pyrrha stares in wonder at the maneuver, before being taken off guard by the stone foundation actually crumbling when she takes it down, and Jaune yells “Let’s move!” prompting them to hurry before they fall.

Jaune manages a roll, Nora lands on her bottom, and Pyrrha, though her landing seems unsteady, she actually manages to land on 3 points. And Ren of course, walks over, exhausted, and plops to the ground.

When they watch team RWBY take out the Nevermore, they are all in awe. “Wow.” Jaune says.

“Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren. The four of you found the white rook pieces- from this day forward, you will be team JNPR: led by Jaune Arc.”

Jaune humbly bows his head, looking at his teammates with a smile. Pyrrha, impressed by the designation, gives Jaune a bump on the shoulder, but he’s taken off guard by her strength and knocked completely over. Pyrrha blushes not realizing how much power she put into it, but Jaune laughs as he gets back up, putting her at ease.

Now here’s where the ordering of things gets a little different.

Oobleck’s History class. Jaune is asleep. This scene goes practically the same.

“Binoculars... nice once Jaune,” Nora laughs. “Har har- look, ironically, History is not exactly my favorite subject.” “Ironically? What do you mean, Jaune?” Pyrrha asks. “Well because- eh, never mind, it’s really not important right now.” Jaune murmurs. “Well still, sorry you have to stay after class- you sure you don’t want any help? Especially with Cardin messing with you?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine!” Jaune replies. “What’s the worst that bird brain can do?” “Well, there was that time he knocked down all your books...” Ren said. “Psh...” “And that time he opened your shield in the doorway to class-” “So?” “And the time he shoved you in a locker and sent you flying-” “Ren- it’s fine! Besides, it’s not like I landed far from the school. I needed the jog! Look, don’t mind him, alright, his family has had beef with mine for like... well, for ever. I’m an Arc- and that means I can take it! Really.”

“I know what would solve this once and for all,” Nora said, “WE COULD BREAK HIS LEGS!” Nora says with sudden gusto, almost scaring Jaune and Pyrrha. Ren seems unfazed.

"Listen, it’s better that he only messes with me than any of you. I don’t want him trying to hurt the rest of you. He might be a really horrible person, but he’s clever and he’s stronger than you think. Just be careful, okay?” “Jaune, I know that you’re our leader and all, but that kind stubbornness of yours will get the better of you one day,” Pyrrha said. “Look who’s talking,” Jaune stuck his tongue out at her, making her laugh. “Pretty bold of you to stand up to him like that, especially in front of the whole class- and I know he didn’t like that. You’ve got guts, Nikos!”

Pyrrha smiles and looks aside.

“If Cardin hassles you, send him to me, no questions as- ACK” Jaune doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before Cardin shoves him to the floor, angry that he has extra work to do.

Jaune stands up, takes a breath, raising a finger as if trying to collect himself- but he winds up tackling Cardin to the ground and punching him in the face, starting a fight between them.

“Alright, alright break it up you two!” Oobleck shoves them apart. “I know that your families have a long history of bad blood, but here at Beacon you’re comrades. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir...” Jaune muttered, not minding the black eye he just got while it heals. “Pff, whatever.” Cardin also muttered, sporting a few bruises that go away quickly.

“Any more confrontations like that and I’ll see what Professor Ozpin would prefer to do about both of you. Now get going. Both of you owe me quite the essay that’s due tomorrow.” Oobleck says before he darts off at high speed, and Cardin walks off. Cardin thinks that he can get a free sucker punch, but Jaune, with a blank expression, has his white Aura shields him, reflecting the pain of the punch onto Cardin, making him yelp. Jaune smirks with satisfaction.

“I’ll get you one of these days, Arc.” “You say that every time. Later pigeonhead.” Jaune said as he walked off with his team.

Cardin stares angrily at Pyrrha- and Jaune was right, he didn’t like when she stood up to him.

Cue the lunch room, with Nora (and Ren) telling Yang the story about the recurring dream she had.

"Everything alright Pyrrha?” “Um, yeah! I just... someone stuffed my locker with pictures of me from the cereal boxes... they had pins and horrible writing with threats on them. It kind of took me off guard.” “Sounds like Cardin to me.” Jaune grumbled, looking at him and his team hassling Velvet. Yang looked on sullenly, commenting how hard it was being a Faunus, while Blake seemed to be seething with anger. Jaune began rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie. “Jaune, please, I don’t want you getting in trouble for my sake. It’s okay-” “It’s not, Pyrrha.” Ruby said in return, “He’s a bully, and if he has his sights set on you, we have your back.” “No, I don’t want any of you dealing with him. I mean yes, he’s atrocious and the worst kind of person, but we have to be better than him.” “And what other way to be better than him in a fight?” Jaune commented. “Tomorrow is a Vytal tournament pretest, and I wouldn’t mind bashing his face a second time on legal grounds tomorrow. All I have to do is volunteer, Goodwitch will let me pick my opponent, and I wipe the floor with him.” “I like your style, Jaune!” Yang grinned, “Show him who’s boss!”

Little did they know though, is that Cardin was looking on, overhearing their conversation.

“Do we have any Volunteers?” Glynda asks, scanning the auditorium. Jaune begins to politely raise his hand- “Yeah, I’ll do it!” Cardin shouts for her to hear, waving his arm casually. “Okay then, Mr. Winchester. Do you have an opponent in mind?” “Yeah, I do, actually,” He grins wickedly, as he stared at the ponytail redhead. “I’d like to take on Pyrrha,” “Alright then! Miss Nikos would you like to take the floor?” “M-me?!” Pyrrha was dumbfounded, glancing at her teammates- especially Jaune. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. “Well Miss Nikos, I’m sure that a 4-time tournament winner such as yourself would be a perfect volunteer for this exercise- unless I’m wro-” “N-n-no! I’m sorry, it’s fine! I um... it would be a pleasure.” She chuckled nervously, smiling half-heartedly. As soon as the attention was off of her, she sank. “Pyrrha are you sure about this?” “It’s fine... Someone has to stand up to him.” “Remember what I said yesterday? He’s not just a bully. He’s smarter than you think and he’s strong. Don’t underestimate him, okay?” “I remember...” She looked aside. “Look, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Weiss and Goodwitch said you’ve won a tournament for 4 years in a row. Knock ‘em dead!”

Even though Jaune’s words were comforting and made her feel better, she still walked towards the stage with reluctance. She looked at the ground on her way up.

“Fighters, ready,” Goodwitch announced as the lights of the auditorium dimmed, and the aura levels showed on the display above them. “Please place your scroll on your person so that you can see your aura levels, that’s what today’s exercise will be covering.”

Pyrrha placed her scroll on the inside of her forearm, where she usually held her shield. She took out her weapon, in its Xiphos form- she was used to how it behaved before- but after Jaune unlocked her aura, she had performed unusually well. Maybe she could actually do this.

Both of their auras were very close to the same level. Goodwitch observed Pyrrha’s fighting more than Cardin’s, and with higher scrutiny. Jaune made note as well, as he watched her fight. She was good: powerful and agile, that much was true. But her swordsmanship was a bit sloppy, and her defense with her shield was less than desirable. Every reflex Pyrrha had always seemed to be a bit late, either blocking only in the nick of time, or not in enough time and getting hit. She wasn’t anticipating far enough ahead- but she still held her own through what seemed to be tenacity and strength.

When Pyrrha appeared she was going to get the last hit for the win, Cardin surprised her, by grabbing her ankle, causing her to trip. He quickly got up, and by grabbing with both hands, he threw her on her back, into the ground with all he had. She was fortunate to have as much aura as she did, or else she’d be completely out of it, if not unconscious.

“Say your prayers, Nikos,” Cardin said. “Over my dead body,” She spat at him with venom in her voice, standing up and charging at him. She was too predictable with this maneuver though, and she took a forceful punch to her stomach from him, the wind getting knocked out of her, and she fell to the ground, wincing. Team RWBY and JNPR were all sad and shocked as they looked onto her heaving form on the floor, as Cardin seemed to be going in for one more blow with his mace-

“That’s enough,” Goodwitch intervened. “As you can see, Miss Nikos’s aura has fallen into the red. In an official tournament setting, she would receive a loss, and be removed from the fight. And on the actual battlefield, this would be a very important time to retreat.”

Pyrrha sat up- her pride was hurt more than anything, especially as she looked onto her friends, and at her scroll as well, confirming what Goodwitch said.

“Not all of your opponents will fight fair Pyrrha- even with tournament rules in place, it would serve you well to try and think 3 steps ahead of your opponents, and fight more defensively at times. After all, we wouldn’t want you getting mauled by a Beowulf.” She said- the last sentence seemed almost condescending, as she seemed to be less than impressed. Pyrrha’s head bowed low in defeat.

“Speak for yourself,” Cardin laughed as he exited the stage.

“Pyrrha, I want you to come with me,” Jaune said, grabbing her hand after he handed his paper to Oobleck for his earlier mishap.

“Wh? Jaune, where are we going?!” She asked with confusion.

Jaune extended his hand as if offering her the view as they stood on the roof of their dorms, close to the edge. She didn’t seem to notice, as she peered over the edge.

“Um, Jaune, I know my fight with Cardin today wasn’t the best, but I’m not that depressed... I can always give up on the Huntress thing and live on the Pumpkin Pete’s royalties, or something...” “Wh- NO!” He exclaimed, clamoring as he pulled her from the edge.

“Pyrrha, I’m trying to say that we can spar up here! Just the two of us- no audience, no teachers- we can have time to ourselves to brush up on our skills.” “You think I need help...?” “What- no, I mean-” “It sounds like you’re telling me that I need help.” “Pyrrha, even the best of us need a little support from time to time, you know? And we’re at Beacon- the best Hunter Academy on the face of Remnant? You earned your place here, and that means a whole lot. It’s a lot of pressure, but I want to help you.” “Ha... haha! You think that’s pressure?” “...Pyrrha?” “You, the guy with just a sword and a shield hand-me-down, think you know what pressure is?” She scoffed at him, digging her finger into his chest, “You know what it’s like to draft the blueprint of the weapon you want when you’re 8 years old, and suddenly everyone starts singing their praises about how brilliant and smart you are? Do you know what it’s like to just have fun with track and field one moment, and suddenly, your parents decide that you need to be a Huntress because anything else is a waste?”

“Pyrrha... I, I didn’t-”

“No, I’m not done!! You know what pressure is?! It’s getting signed up for contracts because you’re a little good at something you like- and suddenly being treated better than everyone else when you haven’t earned it! It’s having no friends because suddenly they think that you’re too good for them and don’t ever want to approach you! Pressure is winning tournaments on a FLUKE, just so that you don’t disappoint the thousands of people and your parents watching- and winning with a lucky hit even though you hate crowds and cameras and you just want it all to STOP!”

The last word with her voice rocked all the metal structures on the roof, and hit Jaune, almost knocking him off the building. He caught the edge before he flew too far, but didn’t want to press his luck when he was in just his school uniform. She gasped seeing what she had done, tears welling in her eyes as she ran away.

“Pyrrha!”

She covered her face in the hallway, crying as she tried to collect herself. She nearly just knocked Jaune off of a stories high roof, and she didn’t even know how or why it happened.

“Well well well, I didn’t know Miss Cereal Box was so sensitive!” Cardin said mockingly as he approached her. “Cardin!” “And on top of that... a polarity semblance? That’s quite the spectacle- and very handy. I’m sure that an investigation into a semblance that can manipulate metal wouldn’t bode well for someone who won a regional tournament four years straight,” “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about?!” She panicked. “You said it yourself- you won those tournaments on a fluke, even when it seemed like you didn’t deserve to. Maybe you’re right! And maybe Goodwitch wouldn’t appreciate information like this if she found out you cheated- she might even send you back home, and then you’ll have to explain to your family why you-” “No! No, no, no, please, no!! I’ll do anything, please just don’t tell Goodwitch! I can’t- my parents...” She choked through her tears. “Alright then- let’s start with you doing my paper for Oobleck for me, because I can’t be bothered- I have things to do, places to be- all that stuff.” He grabbed her head, under his arm- more forcefully than she was comfortable with. “Thanks, Nikos, you’re a real pal!”

#Experience swap AU #Jaune Arc #Pyrrha Nikos

28 notes · View notes